Wire connector



United States Patent WIRE CONNECTOR Michael Lazar, White Plains, N.Y., assignor to Burndy Corporation, a corporation of New York Application December 24, 1957, Serial No. 704,972

2 Claims. (Cl. 174-75) My invention relates to a wire connector and more particularly for a wire connector for attaching a soft or brittle conductor to a terminal or binding post.

Coaxial cables with very small diameter solid copperweld or copper wire inner conductors have been known and used in applications where a wire wrapping tool is utilized to connect the inner conductor to a small stud, prong, terminal or binding post. It has been found that the small inner copperweld conductors are brittle and copper wires are weak and do not readily lend themselves to wire wrapping by tool or otherwise. In addition, it has been found that the attachment of the conductor to the stud does not result in a desirable strength of mechanical bond between the two elements. Where it is desirable to connect the inner conductor of a coaxial cable to a terminal, no convenient means have been provided to ground the shield.

One of the objects for my invention, therefore, is to provide a wire connector suitable for attaching a brittle wire conductor to a small stud or prong.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wire connector for a coaxial cable which has increased mechanical strength.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a wire connector for attaching a coaxial cable to a terminal in which simple means are provided for grounding the outer conductor of the coaxial cable.

'One of the features of my invention is the provision of a wire connector having a flexible terminal portion which is electrically coupled to the conductor and which is flexible enough to permit wrapping it around the standard stud.

Another feature of my invention is the provision of an insulating sheath for the flexible terminal which grips the insulation of the coaxial conductor.

These and other objects and features of my invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view in elevation of wire connector of my invention for use in attaching a coaxial cable to a terminal;

Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view in elevation of the wire connector of Fig. 1 after attachment to the coaxial cable;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view in elevation of a modification of the Wire connector of my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is therein shown in detail one embodiment of a wire connector of attaching a coaxial cable to a terminal in accordance with the principles of my invention. The coaxial cable comprises an outer conductor 12 and a solid inner conductor 14 which is disposed in coaxial relation to the outer conductor 12 and spaced therefrom by insulation 16. The wire terminal 18 of my invention comprises a tubular portion 20 having an inner diameter approximately that of the inner conductor 14, of the coaxial cable 10. Integral with tubular portion 20 is a flexible wire- 2,901,528 Patented Aug. 25, 1959 ice wrap tail 22. The tubular portion 20 is slid into a molded insulation cap 24 composed of a suitable insulating material and the wire wrap tail 22 is fitted through an opening 25 in the insulation cap 24 and thus projects'therethrough. Shoulders 26 are molded into the insulation cap to ensure the retention of the tubular body 20 and tail 22 in their proper location. The upper end 27 of the tubular portion 20 has its ends beveled to provide for easy insertion of the inner conductor 14 of the coaxial cable. Theconnector body 20 and tail 22 is formed of electrolytic copper tubing having a proper inner diameter to accommodate the coaxial conductor while the tail portion 22 is formed by swaging one end of the copper tubing to the desired diameter.

Alternately, a rod may be cold forged into the desired shape. Where maximum flexibility is desired in the tail 22 a stranded wire could be crimped or spliced to the end of a shortened tail portion.

In use, the coaxial cable 10 has its insulation 16 stripped back exposing a portion of the inner conductor 14. The inner conductor 14 is placed in the tubular portion 20 which is then crimped or otherwise electrically and mechanically secured thereto. The insulation cap 24 is fitted over the insulation 16 of the coaxial cable 10 and shoulders 28 provide a rest against which insulation 16 may abut. Obviously, when the insulation cap and tubular portion are provided as a single unit, tubular portion 20 may be crimped through the insulation to provide the proper electrical and mechanical connection as shown in Fig. 2 by the reference numerals 31 and 33.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 an inner sleeve 29 may be molded on to the insulation cap 24 or may be slid over the insulation cap after it is located on the insulation 16 of the coaxial conductor. The inner sleeve 29, of a hard metal such as brass, is located on the shroud end of the insulation cap 24 and the outer conductor 12 of the coaxial cable 10 is disposed thereover. A malleable metal outer ring 30 is slid over the end of the outer conductor 12 and located over the inner ring 29. If desired, the end of a ground jumper lead 32 may be inserted between the outer ring 30 and the outer conductor 12. The outer metal ring 30, which is preferably made of a soft copper material, is then crimped as shown by numeral 35 in Fig. 2, securing the ground lead 32 electrically and mechanically to the outer conductor 12 by compression against the hard metal inner sleeve 29.

As previously described, the insulation cap 24 may be provided with an inner peripheral bead 26 past which the tubular connector body is force-fitted to assist in holding the parts in position.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings, an alternate embodiment of a wire connector in accordance with the principles of my invention is therein illustrated. Parts of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 which are similar to parts in the embodiment of Fig. 1 are identified by similar numbers with the letter a added. Thus, the exposed coaxial inner conductor 14a is inserted into the connector body 18a with the Wire-wrap tail 22a extending therefrom. The tubular portion of the connector body 20a, however, is extended and forced under the insulation 16a of the coaxial cable 10a and provides the support for the malleable outer ring 30a eliminating the need for the inner ring shown in Fig. 1. Thus the outer ring 30a may compress the outer conductor 12a and a ground jumper lead 22a against the tubular body 20a. In other words, the shroud end 28a of the insulator cap 24a extends over the coaxial conductor insulation 16a and is compressed into securing the ground jumper lead 32a.

In both forms of the invention the extending wire wrap tail may be conveniently wrapped around a stud or prong by hand or mechanical wire wrapping tools. The invention thus permits an easily installed, flexible connection to be made from a solid or brittle conductor. In addition, the insulator cap which is provided acts to increase the mechanical strength of the connection by providing an insulation grip, and when necessary grounding means for the outer conductor of a coaxial conductor is conveniently provided. I I

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A termination for a coaxialcable having an inner conductor, an insulation material disposed about said inner conductor and a coaxially disposed outer conductor comprising a terminal member having a tubular body section having one end closed and adapted to receive said inner conductor and mechanically secured thereto, a flexible conductor section integral with and extending from the closed end of and having a diameter less than said body section, an insulating cap enclosing said body section and having an aperture therein through which said flexible conductor section extends, said cap including a portion extending between said inner and outer conductors, an outer sleeve made of collapsible metal positioned over said outer conductor and said extended portion of said insulating cap and an inner sleeve positioned between said outer and inner conductors coaxially with said outer sleeve.

2. A termination for aicoaxial cap in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inner sleeve is integral with said terminal body section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,094,954 Mendel et -al. Oct. 5, 1937 2,456,118 Foster Dec. 14, 1948 2,536,003 Dupre Dec. 26, 1950 2,682,595 Rubinstein June 29, 1954 

